Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2015 Nov;52(11):951-5.
doi: 10.1007/s13312-015-0751-6.

Zinc Supplementation in Preterm Neonates and Neurological Development, A Randomized Controlled Trial

N B Mathur  1 , Devendra K Agarwal
Affiliations
Free article
Randomized Controlled Trial

Zinc Supplementation in Preterm Neonates and Neurological Development, A Randomized Controlled Trial

N B Mathur et al. Indian Pediatr. 2015 Nov.
Free article

Abstract

Objective: To assess the effect of zinc supplementation on neuro-development and growth of preterm neonates.

Setting: Referral neonatal unit of a teaching hospital.

Design: Open-labeled Randomized controlled trial.

Participants: 100 preterm neonates.

Intervention: Participants randomized to receive oral zinc (study group) or not (controls).

Main outcome measures: Primary: Neuro-development status at 40 weeks post conceptional age and at 3 month corrected age using Amiel-Tison neurologic assessment. Secondary: anthropometry and serum alkaline phosphatase at 3 months corrected age.

Results: At 40 weeks post-conceptional age, greater number of zinc supplemented infants demonstrated alertness and attention pattern normal for their age (P=0.02). Higher number of controls showed signs of hyper-excitability at 40 week post-conceptional age (P=0.001) and 3 months corrected age (P=0.003). At 3 month corrected age, mean serum alkaline phosphatase level was significantly higher in the study group compared to controls.

Conclusion: Zinc supplementation till 3 month corrected age in preterm breastfed infants improves alertness and attention pattern; and decreases signs of hyperexcitability, and proportion with abnormal reflexes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types